Baby Cullen
by Daughter of Lestrange
Summary: Sweet story on what it would have been like for Carlisle and Esme if the Cullen siblings had all been little. Just something silly for fun! Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

((I've been working so hard on doing something serious, so I just wanted to do something silly for a change. I always wondered what Carlisle and Esme might have gone through if all of their 'children' had been really little. Enjoy!))

Baby Cullens

PART 1

Esme sighed. She had begun to feel that the beautiful home she and Carlisle shared had become a zoo. She loved all the little ones so much, especially after the loss of her own real son, but sometimes she wished they would grow up just a bit faster. Or that perhaps they could behave for an entire day. She almost dreaded Carlisle coming home now, for fear that he'd bring home another one. He had taken in five of them already. He stayed home to help her with them at least, and worked only at night, but five was more then enough.

Emmett was the oldest at four years old. He was as sweet as could be, but he got riled up very easily. Esme couldn't remember ever hearing a boy's voice go so high from excitement. It would be cute if it weren't so loud. He was also very active. It was because of him that everything in the house that had been breakable was now in the attic. Anything even remotely accessible was plastic.

Jasper was the next oldest. He was still three, but only a month from being four. Esme felt very bad for him. For some reason, he was very distant. He liked to curl up under a blanket with books. He didn't mind being cuddled, but he didn't especially like it. He was very caring, and always concerned for his siblings when they cried. He would become very concerned for them and sit with them until they stopped. Then he would pat them on the head and quietly go about his business again. The only real problem he had was biting, though thankfully not the others. All of the chairs, the table legs, the corners of the furniture, the bottoms of the doors and even the blinds had Jasper's tiny teeth marks in them.

Rosalie was in the middle of her third year of life. She was a very beautiful little girl, and she knew it. She used it to her full advantage. Esme had noticed Rosalie's liking of her plastic beauty playset. She spent an awful lot of time in front of the little mirror. Esme thought it must be just a short phase of vanity that she was going through. It surely couldn't last forever.

Alice was still two, but only a few months from three. On one hand, she was an absolute sweet heart. She loved to be cuddled and was very playful. On the other hand, she was very naughty. Just like Emmett, she wanted to get into everything – especially what she wasn't supposed to. She could also get a bit wild and pester the others. She had a very random personality.

Last, there was little Edward. He had been the first to come to them, and he was very special to Esme. Edward was two. He was very quiet and very shy. He liked to be carried around, or at least very close to what his new mother was doing. Alice could get him to play, but he always seemed reluctant and cautious. He didn't like it when she got overly excited. He had a blanket that he carried around everywhere. He preferred to curl up in corners with books, or with his little player piano. He was very creative for a toddler.

Esme was glad that Carlisle was staying home. She didn't know how she could do it without him. She went to the kitchen with Edward in her arms. He still remembered his other mother who had passed away. Sometimes he would become very sad about it and be overcome by sniffles. Esme let him cling to her on these days. He was such a darling that she secretly hoped he would always be her baby this way.

She went to the kitchen and sat him down on the counter. He whimpered, looking up at her with sad, green eyes.

"It's alright darling,"she smiled. "Mama just needs to rinse some dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Yes. Your big brothers just eat so much and it's always a mess!"

Edward nodded, though Esme doubted that he had any idea what she was talking about. He curled into a ball on the counter and tucked his blanket around himself. He put his thumb in his mouth and watched her patiently.

"MAMAAAAAAA!" Alice screamed.

Esme found her legs under assault by her tiny daughter. Alice tried to squeeze herself between her mother and the counter.

"Shh, Alice, don't scream, baby. What's wrong?"

Carlisle came soon behind her. "Don't you butter her up, Esme. She's in trouble."

Esme gasped. "Alice! Were you naughty? What did you do?"

"No spanking,"she replied.

"I was just in time to see the weekly toilet paper races," Carlisle said. "Three rolls, all the way down the stairs."

"Oh, Alice! We told you that was a no-no. Toilet paper is for your bum, not to play with! How did she get into the bathroom anyway?"

"I have no idea. You know how fast they scoot away when you stop looking." Carlisle leaned down and picked Alice up. "Now listen you, you are going to sit quietly on the stairs until daddy gets all of your mess cleaned up."

He went away with her and Esme went back to her cleaning.

"Your sister is such a stinker, isn't she?" she said to Edward. "Yes, I don't understand how she manages to be so naughty. She's usually such a darling little thing. She does tend to rough you up a bit though, doesn't she? She just doesn't know how to be gentle yet."

Carlisle returned after a few minutes and kissed her neck.

"You did it to yourself, you know,"she laughed.

"Yes, but she's just so adorable. I can hardly punish her when she looks at me with those huge blue eyes and those little pigtails on top of her head."

"She's got to learn sometime though. She's not going to get away with everything."

"Yes, I know it. At least you're quiet, aren't you buddy?" Carlisle asked, running his fingers through Edward's messy hair. "Would you like to come here?"

Edward reached out to Carlisle, never letting go of his blanket. Carlisle lifted him up and kissed him.

"What a sweet boy you are! Oh, you're getting to be so big. Are you looking after mama? I think she's quite safe around dish water. She hasn't drowned yet. Would you like to come play with the others? I have your car all charged up. Would you like to drive that?"

Edward nodded. Carlisle kissed Esme then took him into the living room. He set Edward down next to his little piano then went to retrieve the car. It was a battery operated yellow Porsche that he could actually sit in and drive. It was his favorite thing to do.

Edward watched Emmett and Rosalie. She was on the pink stool in front of her beauty playset. She kept running a plastic brush through her blonde hair. Then she looked at Emmett standing next to her and frowned.

"Sit Emmeh," she instructed. Once he obeyed, she began brushing his hair. "Dere. Emmeh look siwy, but Rosie is fix you!"

She went back to brushing her own hair. Emmett stood and petted her head.

"Rosie is always pretty," he gushed.

"I know," she replied.

Edward looked to the other side of the room. Jasper was sitting at a plastic table, coloring. Alice was coloring too, though she seemed to be having trouble staying on the paper. Every so often, she would look up at Jasper's page and reach over with her marker to color anything she thought he'd missed. He would frown at her until she sweetly kissed his cheek and grinned at him. Then he would decide that perhaps unwanted colors weren't so bad and smile back at her.

Carlisle came back with his car then. Edward was very happy. He didn't have anyone to play with like the others did, but he could play by himself in this and not worry about being lonely.

"There you are little man!"

Carlisle set the car down and helped Edward get in. He loved the huge grin on his son's face.

Edward put his foot down on the little pedal and started going. It didn't go more then three miles and hour at best, but from Edward's squealing, it sounded as though he'd just joined NASCAR.

"Are you sure it's safe to let him ride that in the house?" Esme asked.

"Oh, it's only three feet of plastic. It doesn't go very fast – and besides, Edward is a lot more careful then anyone else."

"I just don't want anything to fall on him. Or it could flip over! Should he wear a helmet?"

"To ride in a plastic car?" Carlisle laughed. He gave Esme a big kiss. "You really are such a mother."

Edward rode around for fifteen minutes. He didn't want to stop, until he spied the plastic kitchen set. He decided to get a picnic together and share with Esme. He found a plastic hamburger patty and hot dog and tossed them into a little basket. He put the tiny ketchup and mustard bottles in. He began to throw in plastic lettuce, tomatoes, onions, french fries and anything else he could get his pudgy fingers around. Edward turned around and put it in the passenger seat and was surprised to see Alice behind the wheel.

"Heeeeey, no!" He tried to run around to pull her out but Alice shut the door on him. "My caw! Mine, mine!"

"No, Ewad. Ali dwives! Bye-bye,"she smiled at him and began driving toward the other side of the room by the stairs.

"My caw,"Edward sniffed. He couldn't quite believe Alice had just taken it from him. Once he recovered from the shock he began wailing. "NO! My caw! My CAAAAW! MINE!" He attempted to waddle after her, but was unable to see through his tears. He fell over on his butt and sobbed.

"Edward, my goodness, what's wrong?" Carlisle came back and lifted him up.

"Mine caw!" Edward pointed.

"Your... oh no. Alright, come on, let's go talk to Alice."

Carlisle had no trouble catching up to Alice. He stood in front of the car so she couldn't go anywhere. He sat Edward on his lap as he knelt down to confront the tiny carjacker.

"Alice," he said patiently. "Did you steal this Porsche?"

"No..." Alice didn't want to look at him.

"Hm, I don't think that's true. Look, you've made your brother cry. You have your own car dear, why did you take Edward's?"

"Cuz is fasther...and is shiny..."

"IS MINE!" Edward cried.

"Shhh," Carlisle soothed. He held Edward close to him. "Yes, that's your car, Edward. I know it is. You did have it for quite a while, though. Do you think Alice could have a turn now if she asked nicely?"

"No, I's need it!"

"What did you need it for?"

"I takes pickie-nic to mama."

"Oh, I see. Mama is busy right now, she's doing laundry. But daddy would just love to have picnic with you! I'll help you carry the basket, that way Alice can have a turn with your car. Is that alright?"

Edward sniffed. "Otay."

"Alice, can you tell Edward your sorry for taking his toy? He'll let you have it now, but you have to ask."

"I sowee. Ali dwives now, peas?"

"Yes, you can have it now."

Carlisle took Edward and the basket to the dining room floor. Edward dumped all the food out on the floor. He began trying to put it all together, then handing it to Carlisle. Carlisle wasn't about to put any of it close to his mouth; the kids drooled all over it and sucked on it when they played house.

Esme soon came by with a whole plastic bin of clean clothes. She stopped to see what they were doing. It always made her so happy to see Carlisle playing with the little ones. Not many men were open to loving children the way he did.

"I heard somebody took his car," she said, hoping not to upset Edward again.

"Yes, but he's learning to share. We found something else to do."

"Somehow, I don't think he's the one who needs to share."

A ball rolled across the floor and under a small couch. Emmett chased after, laid on the floor and began reaching for it. Alice came around the corner in the little car.

"Yay, 'peed bump!" She cried.

She made the Porsche go faster and ran right over Emmett. Alice kept going, giggling as she sped off.

"Mary Alice!" Carlisle called.

He sighed, getting up to chase after her. Esme stopped him for a second.

"Darling... promise me that girl won't get her drivers license until she's fifty."

He laughed and went off after Alice. Esme went to pick Emmett up. He wasn't hurt, just grumpy at being the victim of a hit and run. Edward came after her and held onto her leg, upset at having been left alone. Emmett wiggled out of her arms and ran off to find Rosalie.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh my,"she sighed. "What now? Come on sweetie, let's see who that is."

Edward took her finger and followed her to the door. He wasn't sure he wanted to know who it was.


	2. Chapter 2

PART 2

As Esme opened the large wooden door, Edward hid behind her legs. Carlisle was trying to keep the other children from going to pester their visitor. They were like a bunch of puppies, the way they all tried to cluster around the door to see who it was. Eventually they lost interest and went back to doing what they had been.

"Oh, hello Charlie,"Esme smiled. "What brings you out here?"

Chief Swan and his wife were some of the only people in Forks who didn't mind them. In fact, he rather liked them. Esme thought perhaps it was because they had children the same age. They all understood each other.

"Good morning, Esme. I wasn't supposed to work today, but I just got called in. They was a bad accident down by La Push. Renee went to Port Angeles today. I really hate to ask you this, I know you already have five squirts to chase after, but could you possibly watch Bella?"

Esme was surprised. Renee had come over with Bella and she had spent the day, but they had never baby-sat for anyone before. Not that she minded. Bella was just as quiet and just as sweet as Edward.

"Of course we can," she smiled. "She's such a little sweetheart. We'd love to look after her."

Edward poked out from behind her legs. He wanted to see what she was saying yes to. His memory wasn't very good yet, but he was sure he knew these people. Charlie spied Edward. He smiled and knelt down to him.

"Hey buddy! How's it going? You sure have gotten big."

Edward whimpered and ducked his head back into Esme's leg. Charlie laughed.

"I forgot, you're a shy one too. Look, I've brought somebody for you to play with. Do you remember Bella?"

Edward shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Esme said. "He isn't very social."

"Nah, that's fine. Neither is ours. She's very stubborn, too. She isn't wearing shoes today. The second I got one sock on, she'd take it off. I got one sock on then and put a shoe on, but she kicked it right off and got rid of her sock. So, daddy gave up. I've got sandals in her bag though, if she wants to go out." Then he turned his attention to his toddler. "Listen Bella, I need you to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Cullen today, ok? You'll have so much fun with them! Or they have a nice coffee table you can hide under, which I think you'd rather do. Anyway, I need you to be a good girl, cupcake. I shouldn't be gone too long." He gave Bella a big kiss on the cheek then set her down and stood up. "Thank you so much, Esme. This means a lot to me. Unfortunately, daddy has to make a quick getaway before she knows what's going on. Bye Bella-Boo!"

Esme laughed. "It's not a problem. We'll see you later!"

Charlie hustled off, shutting the door behind him. Esme looked down at Bella. She was such a pretty little girl. She had very curly brown hair that had already grown to her shoulders and seemed quite thick. Somebody had put two pink barrettes in it to hold up the sides of her hair. She was wearing a thin pink coat over a sleeveless green sun dress. Bella just stared at the door with her large brown, fawn eyes.

"Dad-dad...?"She looked up at Esme and began sniffling. She pointed to the door."NO, Dad-dad!"

Bella began sobbing. She sounded absolutely crushed at having been left behind.

"Oh dear!" Esme scooped her up in a big hug. "Aw, did you get left with strangers? Yes, I know, it's so terrible!"

"I WAN' DAD-DAD!" She screamed.

"Shhh, I know. I know you want him to come back, and he will! He needs to go help other people right now, but I promise he'll be back really soon. Yes, it's ok cookie. Shhh."

Esme held her tight and rubbed her head. Bella buried her wet face into Esme's neck. She turned to go sit in the rocking armchair, noticing that Edward wasn't there. He had scurried to another room, put off by the noise. She sat down to rock Bella, patiently waiting for her to calm down. Carlisle poked his head in just to make sure everything was alright, then went back to wrestling with Jasper and Emmett.

Alice wandered in, curious as to who was making all the racket. She was thrilled to see a new person to play with. She went to tug on Bella's jacket.

"Look Bella, I think somebody wants to play with you!" Esme said. "What do you think? Do you want to have fun with Alice?"

Bella was very unsure, but Alice wasn't. Esme decided to sit with them while they played, so that maybe Bella wouldn't be so shy. Alice tugged them over to Rosalie's beauty set. It had been temporarily abandoned while Rose's favorite show was on. Esme set Bella down on the little stool. She seemed very fascinated by the mirror.

Alice began using the plastic brush on Bella's hair. Bella had no complaints about it. She was still poking at the shiny surface. Then Alice pretended to do Bella's nails. Bella looked at her curiously, but otherwise did nothing. Alice opened a tiny drawer and took out a make-up brush that Esme had given the girls. Bella leaned away from it, shooing Alice's hand away. Disappointed, Alice took out a plastic lipstick. When she went for Bella's face again, Bella screamed.

"EEEEE! No! No make! NO MAKE!"

Esme laughed. "Oh dear, Alice. I think you had better find a different game! Bella doesn't like make-up."

"Whyyy?" Alice pouted. "Ali make Bewa so pwetty!"

"No! No pwee Bewa! No!" Bella protested.

"Alice, if she doesn't want to, we aren't going to make her. Bella honey, what would you like to do?"

"Bewa colors, peas?" She asked, still eyeing Alice warily.

"Of course we can color! Look at you, what a polite girl you are! Yes, you're just a sweetheart, aren't you?"

They sat at the table with coloring books. Bella seemed very content then. Esme decided to leave the two girls alone. Alice soon got bored. She didn't like sitting still for very long, and Bella took too much time trying to color in the lines. She went off to see what Jasper was doing.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack. Bella jumped. Rain began pouring down outside. A few seconds later there was a flash of light and another crash. She looked around desperately for a place to hide. She finally spotted it on the other side of the room. Esme had draped a large blanket across four chairs to dry. Bella knew she would be warm and safe under that.

In the kitchen, Esme had started getting lunch together. Edward was sitting on the counter by her. They heard the crash just as she was putting the grilled cheese sandwiches onto plates.

"Whoa!" Edward said, surprised.

Esme laughed. "That was a big noise! I think there's a big storm outside, huh?"

"Yeah, big stowm! Noiiisy stowm!"

"Yes. Come on love, let's get everyone together for lunch. We can keep each other safe."

Carlisle had already rounded the others up. Jasper was sniffling, afraid of the noise. Alice had made room for herself on his chair and was cuddling him. Esme put the plates on the table, then looked around, realizing someone was missing.

"Where's Bella?"

"I thought she was with you," he replied.

"Oh no. Bella!" She called. "Bella, where are you?"

Carlisle got up to help her look. The little ones seemed to want to follow.

"Ok guys,"he said. "We're going to play a little game before lunch. We need to find Bella. She's playing hide and seek. If you can find her, you win."

All of them scampered off to find her. Edward wandered off behind them. He wasn't as fast as the others yet. He waddled into the living room. At first, he was distracted by his little piano. Then he realized he could look at all of the books that Jasper usually had. He finally spied the the fort that Esme had unintentionally created with her sheet. He hadn't seen anyone play with that yet! This could be something that was all his.

Edward was shocked to see another face looking back at him when he crawled under. Of course somebody would find it before him. That was just his luck. He realized it was the noisy little girl who had been dropped off. He liked her a lot better now that she was quiet. They stared at each other for a long time.

"Hi," he finally said, waving his blanket at her. He crawled closer to her.

"No," she whined. "Bewa's spot! Go 'way, shoo, go 'way!"

Bella pushed his forehead back. She didn't want her safe space invaded.

"Edwa is hide wif you! Peas? I be good... we be's fwiend?"

Bella only blinked at him. She was very unsure of him. She curled against one of the chairs.

"Wai' here, otay?"

Edward crawled out from under the sheet and over to a large wooden rack of books. He pulled a whole stack of them off and pushed them back to the sheet.

"Look 'et," he said, sitting across from her. He held up a book meant to show children how animals felt. There was a patch of fake fur on the front. "See? Is sof'!"

Bella was unimpressed. Edward tried to give her another one with a bunch of different flaps to open. She looked at it for awhile but didn't attempt to take it. Edward sighed. He picked up a book on fireflies. He opened it to the last page and pushed a button. Little lights in the book began twinkling.

"Ooo!" Bella reached out to touch the book.

Edward grinned and let her hold it. Once she was tired of it, he showed her more. Bella scooted closer and closer to him until her tiny chin was right on his shoulder. After several more books, she yawned. Edward waddled out to get a big pillow off the sofa. He put it in the middle of their little fort. Bella laid down and shut her eyes. He put his blanket over her then laid down next to her. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep.

Meanwhile, Carlisle and Esme were trying to decide whether or not to call Charlie.

"Honey, Edward is gone too. They have to be together somewhere in here. You know he wouldn't just wander off on his own. There has to be someplace we haven't looked. Why don't we check inside the toys. Both of them are pretty small. They might have squeezed into a place we wouldn't think to look."

They went back into the living room and began opening anything big enough for a toddler to fit into. Esme spotted her sheet, knowing it was probably dry by now. She decided to put it back as they searched. She lifted it up and was shocked to see what she found under it.

"Carlisle, come look at this,"she laughed.

He laughed too, then gently picked them up. He set them back down on the couch where they would be more comfortable.

"Aren't they sweet? Look, he's even shared his blanket with her,"Esme smiled.

"I'm so glad he finally has his own friend. Even if they do like to give us a good scare," Carlisle replied.

"Naughty Edwa," Alice said, waddling in to make sure he was ok. "No hide 'fore lunch."

"Don't worry honey, we can heat it up again," Esme said. She held her hand out to Alice. "Let's go eat while they have a nap."

"Otay! Ali gets somefing firs' though."

Carlisle and Esme left her and went to get the others into the kitchen. Alice went over to the beauty playset and took out the make-up brush and lipstick. She snuck back over to the couch and began brushing Bella's face. Alice's pressed the lipstick to Bella's lips, then ran back to the playset to put things away.

"Ali make pwee Bella!" She giggled to herself. "Me win!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Edward and Bella finally woke up. Esme reheated their lunches. Bella poked at hers. She wasn't sure that it was really safe to eat. After all, this was a strange house, and it probably wouldn't taste like the food her parents made.

"What's wrong, honey? Aren't you hungry?" Esme asked. She ran her hand down Bella's hair, afraid her fingers would get stuck in the little girl's curls if she tried to go through it.

"'Es..." Bella sighed. She sniffled.

"Oh, I see. You want food mommy made. I understand. Edward doesn't really like strange food either. I'll tell you what – how about you just try it. You don't have to eat it if you don't like it."

Bella whimpered and reached out to Esme. Esme smiled gently. She picked Bella up and sat in the chair with Bella in her lap.

"There, now, it's ok little darling!" Esme picked up the sandwhich. "Here, just try a tiny bite. We can go play if you don't like it."

Bella wiped her eyes and took her food from Esme. It looked much bigger in her little hands. Edward and Bella had each gotten half a sandwhich, a few french fries and a cookie. They couldn't eat much more then that. Bella sniffed her sandwhich. Esme held back a laugh. Bella was so unsure of everything. She looked up at Esme before taking a little nibble in the corner of it. Then she took a bit bigger bite. Bella kicked her feet happily.

"Is nummy!" She grinned.

She finished her grilled cheese then ate four of her fries. She claimed she was full, but Esme could tell she just wanted the cookie. Edward had already finished. Esme put Bella down on the chair and went to get the dishcloth. Edward had black drool from the Oreo all over his face.

"Hey buddy, look at mama," she said.

Edward looked up at her. She began to wipe his face. Edward began to cry. He thought he was about to get another treat. What a dirty trick! He tried to dodge Esme's cloth, but his vampire mother was much faster then he was.

"Oh, you stop that, it's not that bad! If you ate neatly like Bella, we wouldn't have to do this. Ok, that's good enough. Let me see your hands."

Edward didn't mind his hands being cleaned off as much as his face.

"There we go. All clean! Such a fuss over nothing, silly boy."

"I's pway?"

"Yes, you can go play now."

Edward scooted off, far away from the evil dishcloth. Bella finished shortly after him. Esme was in the kitchen. Bella waddled to her, tugging on her shirt.

"Bewa hewp?" She asked. At home, she loved to help her mother do the dishes. At least, she thought she was helping. She really only like the bubbles in the water.

"Aw, of course you can help me, sweetheart!"

Esme got out the step stool so that Bella could reach the sink. There weren't very many dishes, but enough that the two of them were able to have a lot of fun together. When they were done, Esme gave her a couple of jellybeans for being a good helper. Bella held Esme's finger and they made their way into the living room.

They went over to the couch were Jasper was perched, looking at some books. Alice was sitting next to him, eating books.

"Alice, no-no, get that out of your mouth! You don't treat books that way."

Esme took a very colorful book to read to Bella. She put her down in her lap and opened the story. She laughed as she was suddenly crowded by the other two. Esme began to read. It was difficult, since Alice kept interrupting, trying to tell her own story. They finally got through it and Jasper ran to get another one. Halfway through it, Rosalie screamed from the other side of the room.

"EWWW! MAMA!"

"Shh, don't shout, Rose. What's wrong?" Esme asked.

"Edward peed!"

"What?" Esme turned her head. She could see a very stunned Edward standing over a little puddle, his crotch and legs soaked. "Oh no. Thank you hun, I'll take care of it."

Esme scooted Bella off her lap and left the three with their book. Edward was in tears by the time she reached him.

"It's ok love,"she said gently. "Shh, Edward, everything is alright. It was just an accident. Yeah, you're still learning!"

She rushed him off to the bathroom. She tossed his dirty clothes into the sink. Edward was only recently put into 'big boy pants'. He had been doing so well with his potty training. He hadn't had an accident during the day for two weeks. Esme realized that with Bella's presence, Edward was probably distracted and not paying attention to his body.

Edward was on the toilet, crying his eyes out. Esme knelt in front of him and kissed his wet face. She held his tiny hands in hers and smooched his fingers. She pushed his messy hair out of his face and mopped it with toilet paper

"Sweet boy, it's really ok. Yes, everything is just fine! You're just embarrassed, aren't you? Yeah, I know it. You know what though, in a few hours, everyone is going to forget about it! I promise."

Edward looked at Esme, huge tears running down his face. "Mama!" He tried to scoot forward to her.

"No, love. No, you need to sit there and finish going tinkle."

He sniffed, obviously upset that she wouldn't hold him, but obeyed her anyway. He hadn't gone all day and couldn't afford not to listen to her. He didn't have much of a choice at that point. He finally flopped against the back of the toilet, in exaggerated exhaustion. Esme laughed.

"Goodness, you certainly held it a long time! We're not going to do that again, are we? No, sir."

Esme wiped him off and lifted him up. She gave him a huge hug and kissed his cheek deeply. Edward held onto her neck tightly.

"That's my big boy. See? Everything is ok! Everyone has accidents, even big, tough, Edwards. That's alright, too. Making mistakes is how we learn."

She kissed him again then set him down. Esme filled the sink with water and liquid laundry detergent to soak his dirty clothes. That would get the initial soiling out before she put them in the laudry. Edward stood by patiently, waiting for dry clothes. He suddenly touched Esme's leg, looking toward the door. She was about to ask what was wrong, but followed his gaze and chuckled.

Bella was standing in the doorway, gaping at Edward's lower half. She didn't have young brothers, so she had never seen a male naked before. She seemed to be very shocked. After a few seconds, she recovered and looked up at Esme, who had decided to just let a child's curious nature take its course. There was no harm in Bella staring.

"Bewa go,"she pleaded, pointing to the toilet.

"You too? My, I think we should have a potty party! Come on in, sweetie. It's ok."

Bella pulled her pull-up off and waddled in. Now Edward was staring. He hadn't taken much notice of his sisters' nudity. They were just sisters, and, as far as he was concerned, no different then he was. Since Bella was a stranger, he certainly noticed now. Esme put Bella up on the toilet to do her business. She noticed that the little one's pull-up was wet. Not too bad, but enough that she should change it. She glanced at Edward, who was sucking his thumb, still eyeing Bella curiously.

Carlisle came to tell Esme that he had cleaned up the living room, and he brought clean clothes for Edward. He sent back out to get Bella a clean diaper.

"These two have even synchronized their bladders?" He laughed. "Wow, that's a really solid friendship!"

When he left, Esme found Edward trying to peek in the toilet behind Bella. She thought that he must have learned that from Alice who did it to everyone in the house.

"Edward, come here. Leave Bella alone, please,"she said.

"Is otay, I done,"Bella smiled proudly.

"Good girl!"

Esme helped her wipe then got her back together with the fresh diaper. Then she helped Edward back into his clothes. They all made their way back down the hall. Carlisle was standing with the others by the front door.

"We're going outside," he told Esme. "It's stopped raining now. Will you join us?"

"Of course! I'll get their shoes on and we'll be right out,"she replied.

Edward ran to get his sandals. Esme undid the velcro and slid his little foot into it and put it together tightly. Bella had regular flip-flops. She put them on very reluctantly. She obviously hated shoes, even open ones.

They went outside and the little ones took off. Esme was glad that she had some time alone with Carlisle. They sat on the pporch swing and watched as the children tossed around a large ball. Jasper was digging in the dirt for worms. Rosalie had put her tiny sunglasses on and was laying in the driveway like she was sunning herself.

"Do you think we should have Bella over more often?" Carlisle asked. "Edward is so happy."

"Isn't he? He's so cute. Poor little thing was so embarrassed about his accident."

Carlisle laughed. "Then again... perhaps it isn't a good idea. Eventually they'll be one of us. We'll all be together forever. Unfortunately, we'll have to cut ourselves off from the world in that way. Being friends with a human would be too dangerous for us – and highly unfair to her, in the end. We would have to leave and she would be so lonesome."

"The others seem to have paired off already. Where will that leave Edward?" Esme asked sadly.

"I wouldn't worry about that," he smiled. "I'm sure he'll have a lot of women after him. Bella isn't the only nice girl out there. I highly doubt they would actually end up together anyway."

There was a sudden scream. The two adults looked up in time to see Bella fall and skid on her face down the driveway. There were a few seconds before her earsplitting crying began. Esme ran to her and turned her over. The only thing she could see was the little girl's blood. Red, fresh, warm, delicious blood.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Carlisle and Esme were both up at the same time. Esme rushed to Bella and gently stood her turned her over. The little girl's face was very bloody and it was hard to see exactly where it was coming from. Bella was screaming for her mother.

Esme found it harder and harder to be close to Bella. She was used to her own children, but there was something else about the little one that smelled too wonderful for her own good. Carlisle quickly took Bella and shooed Esme away from the bloody sight. She nodded weakly and called the children to follow her.

They were all staring at Bella. Edward ran to Esme and hugged her leg, whimpering. She picked him up and Alice took her finger. Rosalie and Emmett waddled behind them. They made it to the porch when Esme realized someone was missing. Jasper was examining the blood that had been left behind on the pavement. He was poking at it, then looked at his finger, clearly very fascinated by it. He sniffed at it and smiled, rubbing his fingers in it again. He brought his hand up to his mouth.

"Jasper, NO!" Esme cried. It was bad enough as a vampire, but she didn't want her innocent little human boy tasting blood. "Come here darling, leave that alone."

He was clearly shocked. He looked back longingly at the interesting substance, but eventually went after his mother and siblings to the house.

"Hello, little one," Carlisle said, holding Bella close to him. "Shh, I know it hurts. I know it. I can fix that! Yes, it's alright, little biscuit."

"MAMA!" Bella wailed. "I wan' mamaaa!"

"Do you? Ok, we'll call her. Yeah, we'll see if mama can come give you a hug! Now then, can I see your face? Can Carlisle look at you?"

He was already to the front door and quickly made his way up the stairs to his office. He took out the medical bag under his desk and shone a small flashlight on Bella's face,

She was squirming so much that it was hard to see exactly what he had to do, but he got a good idea of it. He held her close and took out a needle of anesthetic and got her before she knew what he was doing. She quieted down as the pain numbed.

"There we go, squirt," he soothed. "My, we certainly took a bad spill! I saw that. Large rubber balls are pretty violent, aren't they? It looked like fun though. If I were your size, I'd try to get on top of it too. You just weren't expecting it to roll you down the drive, huh? And right on your beautiful face!"

Bella wasn't even listening to him. She was still whimpering, but she had busied herself with trying to fish the pens out of his pocket. Then she started playing with the gold chain with the ancient crucifix he always wore around his neck.

Carlisle could see that her upper lip was split. That seemed to be the worst of her injuries and she would need stitches. Her entire left cheek was scratched up and her tiny button nose was bleeding. He started by tearing a tissue in half and poking it up her bleeding nostril. She fussed at him.

"No no, love. That needs to stay there, don't take it out. I know it isn't very comfortable. It needs to be there though! Then we can get rid of all this blood and clean you up."

Carlisle laid her down on the futon between two of his massive bookshelves. He made sure that she was comfortable in her little nest of pillows. Her numb face seemed to be making her sleepy, which was much better for him to work with. He quickly took out his stitching needle and thread and gave her four tiny stitches in her lip. He put some gauze in her mouth to soak up all the blood. Once he was satisfied that all the bleeding had completely stopped, he mopped her face with a tissue then burned all the bloodied things together.

He picked her up and carried her off to the bathroom. He wet a wash cloth and cleaned her face, hands and chest of the blood. She nuzzled into him when he picked her back up. Carlisle gently kissed the side of her head.

"It's ok, pretty girl. Yeah, it's all over! You're fine now." He rubbed her neck as she began to snooze on his shoulder. "You're such a cutie pie. Did you know that your name means beautiful? It comes from the Italian word belladonna. Carlisle lived there a long, long time ago, in Italy. But you don't need to know how old I am. That might scare you. Sometimes it scares me!"

He took Bella out to see Esme and the others. Edward toddled to them right away, concerned for his new friend.

"Hello little man! Look, Bella is just fine. Yeah, she's not broken," he smiled, lifting Edward up to see her. He attempted to poke at her lip, but Carlisle quickly stopped him. "No, big boy. Leave Bella's stitches alone. That's a big owie on her face. It'll hurt her if you touch it."

"Bewa ouchie?"

"Yes, Bella's ouchie. Just like all of your ouchies!"

Every time Edward got hurt, he got lots of kisses out of Esme. It always made him feel so much better. He decided that Bella needed to feel better right now, so he leaned over and kissed her little lips. Carlisle and Esme both laughed.

"Aw, thank you buddy! You're so sweet! Did that make Bella feel better?"

"Awl bettah!"Edward said.

"Esme, does Bella have a change of clothes in her bag? Her little dress has blood all over it."

"No, I checked for that too. Would Alice's clothes fit her?"

"Actually, I think she's a little bigger then Alice! Taller, anyway. Rosalie's outfits would be way too big." Carlisle sighed. "Should we raid Edward's closet? Yeah? I don't think you mind, do you?"

Alice had come to his feet then and was untying his shoes. He wondered why he had ever taught her how to do that.

"Hey! You little stinker! What are you doing down there?"

She grinned up at him, the little pigtails on top of her head, bobbing. "Dad-dad pway?"

"Esme, do you want to look after Bella?"

She laughed and took Bella out of his arms. They went to Edward's room. "Now, let's see what we have in here that isn't too boy-ish. Everyone wears shorts, right? That doesn't matter so much. Let's look at the shirts then. That's what matters!"

She picked through Edward's tops until she finally found one that Bella could wear without making her look like such a tomboy. She knew Renee was determined to raise a tiny princess, as most mothers were with baby girls. It was a pale green shirt with a cartoon frog on it. It had googly eyes that moved around when the shirt shook. Edward had always thought the top was hilarious. She gently put it over Bella's head and arms and straightened it out over her. She then put jean shorts on Bella, after getting a fresh pull-up on her. Apparently, the fall had scared some tinkle out of her.

Esme sat with Bella in a large padded rocking chair. Bella was so worn out from crying and from her face being numbed. She cuddled into Esme, grasping Esme's dress collar line. Esme hummed softly to her, rubbing Bella's back. She soon fell asleep and Esme tucked her into Edward's bed.

Not long after that, Carlisle came upstairs with some very sleepy little ones. Rosalie had fallen asleep on top of Emmett on the couch, so he had left them there. Jasper waddled to his room. Carlisle put Alice in her room, glad that for one afternoon she wasn't being a nap-time grouch. He soon heard her tiny footsteps going to Jasper's room.

"Heeey,"Jasper whined.

"Shh! Quiet, Jaspie. Awi is nap here, otay?"

"'Kay,"he sighed sleepily.

Carlisle poked his head in the room to find Jasper snuggling her like a large teddy bear. Alice was obviously very disoriented as she had fallen asleep with Jasper's thumb in her mouth, instead of her own. He laughed, taking Edward to his room.

"Uh-oh! Your bed is occupied. How do you like that, huh? Did you get the boot? That's what women do. They start out by stealing your sheets, and pretty soon they take over the whole bed."

"Am I hearing someone say they want to sleep on the couch?" Esme challenged, playfully.

"No ma'am,"Carlisle apologized quickly, with mock shame. "Do you think it's alright if I put them together?"

"Yeah, why not? They're not old enough to think of anything naughty."

"No, but we are,"he winked, setting down his sleeping son.

Esme giggled, she and Carlisle heading off to their room for their own "nap".


	5. Chapter 5

When little Bella still hadn't woken up, Esme decided that she should gently rouse her to get her ready for her father. She went in and softly massaged Bella's head. Bella slowly opened her eyes. She lifted one sleepy fist to rub her face. When she hit her new stiches, she began to whine.

"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry. I know that hurts," Esme said, gently lifting her up. Bella nuzzled her face into Esme's cool neck. "Shh, I know. We called your mama, but her phone was off. We did get ahold of daddy, though. He said he's on his way."

Bella snuggled closer to her and Esme rubbed her back. She took the little one downstairs where the rest of their children were watching their favorite television show. Esme thought that she and Carlisle got more of a kick out of Spongebob, as the kids didn't understand some of the hidden meanings behind the jokes, but they thought he was hilarious anyway.

She sat with the toddler on the couch, facing her toward the TV. Edward was happy to see that his little friend was awake and sat close to Esme's lap. The others looked warily at her. They weren't sure what the stitches on her face were, and scooted away slightly, in case they were contagious. Bella didn't seem to notice. She grinned and pointed a pudgy finger at the screen.

"Bob!" She giggled.

"Is that Spongebob?" Esme laughed. "Yeah? Do you like him?"

Bella excitedly put her fingers in her mouth, making a happy squea in her throat. "Is mine Bob!"

"Aw, is he your friend? He's quite a good friend of ours, too! You should ask Edward who his best friend is."

Bella looked at Edward curiously. She still didn't quote know the words to say, so Esme helped her out.

"Edward! Hey buddy, who is your best friend? Who is your TV friend?"

"Barney!" He yelled.

Esme and Carlisle laughed.

"Heeey, you's quiet puh-leeze," Alice scolded.

"I'm sorry, dear, are we too loud?"

Alice only humphed and went back to watching the program. They all quietly watched the rest of the show, until the doorbell suddenly rang. They had all but forgotten that Charlie was coming to rescue his little daughter who was supposedly in peril. Carlisle went to the door and let him in. He was stunned to see a baby in Charlie's arms. What shocked him even more was that he knew who the baby was.

"Hello Carlisle," Charlie smiled sadly. "Can we come in?"

"Oh...well...I..."

Esme had scooted Bella off her lap and went to the door. She was just as surprised as her husband. She let out an involuntary gasp.

"Is something wrong?" Charlie asked, after an awkward silence.

Recovering from the initial shock, Carlisle put on a smile. "No, no of course not. We were just suprised to see you with a baby, that's all."

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry about that. This is Jacob Black. He belongs to my friend, Billy. I don't suppose you know him...?"

"We do, actually. We saw Jacob once, but he was a newborn then. My he - he sure has gotten big, hasn't he, dear?" Esme said nervously.

"Yes. Well... yes, you can come on in, I suppose. I'm sorry to sound hesitant, but it's a real mess in here," Carlisle bluffed.

They stepped aside to let Charlie and Jacob in. Esme gave Carlisle an incredulous look. He shrugged. Jacob, they had been told, was supposed to be part of the La Push werewolf pack. There had not been wolves for a very long time, but the gene had fallen onto this generation. Little Jacob was not just another pack member, however. He was their leader. He certainly wasn't supposed to be in Forks, let alone right in the Cullen's home. Then again, they could hardly help it now. Charlie had no idea what he was doing.

"I apologize, I'm probably not very good company right now," Charlie said.

"What makes you say that?" Esme asked.

"To be honest, I'm pretty upset. I've never taken care of this little guy before, but it couldn't be helped. That accident down in Lap Push... it was his mother. Some drunken idiot slammed right into her car. She's at the hospital right now. I told Billy it would be alright, but... but I suppose I can tell you truth. Part of it is because he's such a close friend, and part of telling him that was because it's my job. In any case -" Charlie paused and sighed heavily. "We're pretty certain that Sarah had already passed away by the time we got there. We couldn't get her to breath and they weren't sure if she had a pulse. I took Jacob off his hands so he can concentrate on what to do, for now."

Esme and Carlisle both looked at each other guiltily. No matter what they might have thought about the wolves, it hurt them both to hear that this little baby had just lost his mother. If they were honest with themselves, they had to admit that he wasn't bad just because he was a wolf. He was only a baby, after all, and pretty cute at that. Charlie sat down on the sofa and Esme knelt down in front of them.

"Hello," she smiled at Jacob. "Hello, little darling! Look at what a big boy you are! Are you alright? I'm so, so sorry to hear about your mama. That makes me so sad. You have to be a big, strong boy for your daddy now. He needs you. Will you be a good boy? Hm? You sure look like one! Yes, you look so sweet!"

Esme wiggled his foot and tickled his tiny toes. Jacob was wearing a blue and white stripped onsie, with little blue shorts. He had socks tucked into one of the little pockets, but he obviously didn't want to wear them.

Jacob kicked his feet at Esme, grinning when she tickled him. He reached forward and grabbed her hand. He tried tasting her fingers, then shook her hand with both of his. He cooed and smiled up at her. Esme couldn't help but grin back.

"Aren't you just a little cutie pie?" She tickled him under his chin.

Just then, Bella made her way of to them. She was standing on the couch with her little bare feet. She stumbled slightly onto Charlie's shoulder.

"Hey there, princess! How are you?"

"Daddy, I owie," she said. She didn't sound too upset about it. In fact, she sounded rather proud of her battle scars.

"Yeah, Mr. Cullen told me about that! Let me see," he said. He examined all the scrapes and the stitches on her tiny face. "Oh, Bella-boo, what did you do this time?"

"This time?" Esme asked.

"Yes, this little pipsqueak likes to play rough. We get to see the ER about every other month. In fact, Carlisle, I think I should make a deal with you. I can set up a stand in there and start giving tours."

They all laughed.

"We're very sorry about it, in any case. She was pretty upset."

"That's fine. I have a feeling she was probably more afraid then anything. It doesn't seem to bother you too much now, huh munchikin? Speaking of little ones, look who's here Bella! Look, it's your friend Jakey! Can you say hi?"

"Baby!" Bella beamed. "Hi baby!"

"His name is Jacob, honey," Charlie told her. "I know you remember him! You saw him last week."

"Baby Jakey!" Bella reached out one tiny hand and tickled Jacob's fat baby stomach. Her voice went several notches higher when she spoke to him. "Hiii! You is so coot! Jakey so coot! Do you's wanna kissie? Come hewe widdle baby!"

Bella pulled him forward and gave him a huge kiss right on his nose. The adults all laughed at how excited Jacob got.

"Thank you, darling. That was very sweet of you! We need to be very nice to Jake right now. He will be very sad for awhile."

"Poh Jakey." Bella rubbed the top of his head, messing up his thick black peach fuzz.

"I suppose we should be going now..."

"No," Bella whined. "Daddy, I watches Bob!" She pointed desperately at the television screen.

"Oh, I see. We don't want to overstay our welcome with the Cullens though."

"No, it's no trouble," Esme said. "She can stay if she wants to. Besides, Carlisle and I are more then willing to talk to you about what happened, if you like."

Charlie smiled sadly. "You, I think I would like that, actually. Will you stay here with Jake, Bella?"

"Yes, daddy."

Charlie got up and propped Jacob up with some pillows. He put him right in the corner so that the little guy wouldn't be able to go anywhere.

"Are you sure he'll be alright?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, he can scoot around pretty good, but I don't want to take any chances."

"How old is he?"

"He just had his first birthday about a month ago. He's just so big; very determined, too."

The adults walked off to the Cullens dining room. Bella sat herself down right next to Jacob.

"Hiii," she grinned. "Hi Jakey! You wanna pway?"

She nuzzled her nose into his left temple. He squealed happily.

"Nooooo!" He said, happily.

"Here. Look at me's Jakey!" She waited until she had his attention then covered her eyes. "Peekie boo! Peekie boo! Peekie...peekie... peekie BOO!"

Jacob gurgled when he laughed. He clapped his little hands. Bella did it several more times before she got tired of it. SHe hugged him again.

"I jus' loves Jakey!"

"Lub," he repeated, giving her a very wet, sloppy kiss.

Bella laughed and tried to pull away. She ended up knocking several plush pillows off the couch. Jacob tried to peer over the edge.

"Uh-oh!" He gasped, then waved at them. "Byes-byes."

"What Jake wanna do?" Bella asked. When he didn't know what to say, Bella told him they would watch TV.

They sat together for a little while, before Bella's other new friend returned. Edward had gone off to the kitchen, hoping to sweet talk a cookie or two out of Esme. He finally succeeded and waddled back into the living room and was not at all happy with what he saw.

"Hey!" He whined at the strange baby who had taken his spot.

"Edwah, this Jakey. He's baby. Isn' he coot?" She grinned.

"I guess," he shrugged.

Jacob was eyeing the cookies in Edward's hand. He reached out one pudgy little arm.

"Cookie?" He asked.

"No, mine!" Edward replied grumpily.

Jacob began to whine. Bella frowned and looked at Edward with her big, sad brown eyes.

"Awww, peas share, Edwah? Peas?"

Edward looked sadly at his cookie, then back at Bella. He sighed deeply.

"Otay. Hewe Jatub," he said, breaking off a small piece and handing it to him.

"An-du," Jacob said, trying to say thank you.

"Welcome," Edward grumbled. "Bella come pway now?"

She was about to go when Jacob grabbed her hand.

"No!"

Bella remembered that Charlie had told her to stay with Jacob. WHen she told this to Edward, he was extremely unhappy about it. Jacob held Bella's arm close. He wasn't about to let her go off without him.

"Stop it!" Edward whacked Jacob's hand away. "She mine's Bella!"

"No, no, no," Jacob flapped his arms at him, trying to hit him back.

Edward caught on Jacob's tiny hands to stop him. Jacob looked at it for a second, then chomped down on Edward's fingers.

"OWIE!" Edward cried.

Bella gasped. "No Jakey! No! That's no nice!"

Jacob giggled craftily. "Bite," he said, an evil smirk on his pudgy face.

"Jakey!" Bella scolded. "You says you's sorry to Edwah. Do now, says sorry."

"Sowwy," Jacob said in a 'whatever' tone.

Edward decided that he would move to the other side of the room. He tipped over a plastic bin where a whole load of cardboard brickes tumbled out. Bella started to make her way over to him when Jacob whimpered. She looked back at, him over to Edward who was waving her over.

"Wai' a minned," she told Edward. "I gets baby."

She went back to the couch and helped Jacob down. She went back to Edward, and began helping him construct a castle. Jacob sat on the floor watching them. He had been hoping that Bella would carry him over and he was pouting. Bella turned around to get another block and tripped over one. SHe fell backward, smashing the progress she and Edward had made.

"Oopsie," she said, embarrassed.

She and Edward laughed. Jacob couldn't stand it anymore. He rolled over into a crawling position. He stretched his back legs so that his butt was way up in the air. Then he carefully lifted his hands from the floor to stand. He slowly waddled over to the blocks and sat down again.

Jacob started his own little tower. He stacked a line of three bricks, and made it four bricks high.

"Be-be," he said, catching the edge of Bella's shorts. "Be-be, look'et!"

"Aww, that so good Jakey! You so good!" Bella smiled, tickling Jacob under chin.

Edward glared at them. He walked stealthily by and kicked the bottom of the bricks, making them all fall over. Jacob sniffled.

"Ohh, Edwah," Bella sighed.

"Sowwy," He shrugged. "Was asident." He turned around and smiled to himself.

Eventually, Charlie came back and picked Jacob up off the floor.

"What are you doing over here, little man?"

"I putted him dere," Bella said.

"Bella, I thought I told you to leave him on the couch, honey," Charlie said.

"But he wants to pway. An' he's otay, I watchded him real careful."

Charlie smiled. "Well, thank you sweetie. We need to go home now. Can you help Edward put the toys away?"

"Oh no, Charlie, that's alright," Esme said. "He and Alice will probably keep playing with them."

"Ok, if you're sure. Thank you so much for talking to me. I really do appreciate it. Bella, can you tell Mr. and Mrs. Cullen thank you?"

"Thank you! Is fun, my come over tomowo's?" She asked.

They all laughed.

"We would love to have you over again, sweet girl, but I think you need to keep Jacob company tomorrow," Carlisle said. "You be really good for your mama and daddy now, ok?"

"Otay. Bye-byes Edwah," Bella said, as the adults made their way to the door.

"Byes Bewa. My wub you," he smiled shyly and hugged her.

Esme gave a little happy squeak. Edward had never treated another person that way. They always had to ask him to give hugs. As they adults were saying good-bye and opening the door, Jacob leaned over Charlie's shoulder and blew a raspberry at Edward. Edward was about to yell, when Charlie walked away with Bella and Jacob, and Esme shut the door.

"Well, did you have fun today, buddy?" Esme grinned, scooping Edward up into her arms.

"Yes mama," he smiled back, snuggling into her. "But I no like dat baby. He twouble."

~*~THE END~*~

((Thank you so much for reading this! I really hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to check out the sequel, Baby Pack. ~D.O.L.))


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